


Ni Kyr'tayli Gai Sa'vod

by scrapmetal



Category: Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Character Study, Gen, i take the clone cadets from death trap and develop them. they are mine now, i would like to think it is at least, tags for characters will be added as they're introduced
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-09
Updated: 2020-08-10
Packaged: 2021-03-03 18:47:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24620293
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scrapmetal/pseuds/scrapmetal
Summary: Boba shuttered, and before he even knew what he was saying, he let out a soft "no."“What did you just say?”“I’m not going to kill them!” Boba’s voice cracked over tears.Aurra huffed. “You don’t even have to pull a trigger. What’s gotten into you?”When Boba tried to answer, all that came out was a broken sob.Or, an alternate ending to Death Trap where Boba doesn't choose to kill those cadets (not that they die, but he sure thinks they do).  It causes a fair amount of changes.Title is the mandalorian adoption vow with sibling (vod) replacing child (ad)
Relationships: CC-2224 | Cody & Boba Fett
Comments: 22
Kudos: 142





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> woahh nooo my hubris... *starts another multichapter fic when i already write at a snail's pace*
> 
> i know a lot of people have written alternate endings for this arc but like... its always based on an outside influence preventing boba from going to jail. i felt like this would be maybe more exciting, definitely something new. also i get to steal a lot of the background characters from death trap and develop them nice n good.

Boba tuned out the chatter of the clone cadets that shared his escape pod as he prepared himself for what came next. 

The _Slave I_ was a familiar presence, but Aurra Sing? Not yet. Not ever.

“You boys look lost,” Aurra greeted the cadets with a very obviously fake smile. Boba couldn’t recall if he’d ever seen her smile genuinely. His expression hardened as she stepped into the escape pod.

“Congratulations Boba, job well done.”

“His name’s not Boba, it's _Lucky_ ,” Jax said as he stepped up and put a protective arm in front of Boba. The kid had known him for what, a few hours? Boba’s gut twisted with guilt. He really didn’t deserve any of that.

_“Lucky?”_ Aurra repeated incredulously, letting out a laugh. “That’s a good one, Boba.”

Boba’s insides burned. That name wasn’t a _joke_ and she just-

“You’re with _her?_ ” Jax asked, disbelief and anger leaking into his voice. 

Boba felt tears start to form in his eyes, he looked down, away from Aurra, away from Jax and the others. This wasn’t how this was supposed to happen. If Windu had just _died_ to his first trap none of these cadets would have to get caught up in this and he could be done with Aurra for good by now.

“I wasn’t expecting you to bring friends along,” Aurra continued. 

“I couldn’t help it Aurra!” Boba protested. He swallowed before continuing. “What are you going to do with them?”

Aurra sneered. “What do _you_ think?”

“Let them go?” Boba asked forcefully, like he could force her to say yes. 

Aurra gave one of her impatient sighs. “They’re living witnesses honey.” 

“That was never part of the plan!” Boba argued, “I just wanted to kill the Jedi that murdered my _Buir!”_

Aurra pulled back impatiently, and Boba realized how close she had gotten to his face. “Well that will have to wait. Grow up. You’ll get your revenge in time.”

Boba looked back down, anger boiling in his chest. There wasn’t much he could do now. 

“Now get on board,” Aurra said as she left the escape pod. “We have to get out of here.”

Before Boba could even speak, Aurra interrupted herself with another one of her fake smiles. “Or, you can go with your _friends_ , who I’m going to jettison into the unknown.” She laughed silently. “That would be poetic.”

Boba looked up to argue, but then he remembered who he was talking to. He looked back down, accepting his fate, or rather the fate of the three cadets behind him. He could either leave them to die or join them in their death. Really, there wasn’t much of a choice.

“I’m sorry,” he said as he left, words barely making their way out of his mouth.

“Traitor,” came a voice from behind Boba. He hadn’t spent enough time with these cadets to tell who it was, they all just sounded like echoes of himself.

Boba stopped in front of the controls to the door holding the escape pod. He already knew who’d have to actually do the deed, especially after he refused to hurt that guard they’d angered on Coruscant. He just sat there though, hoping Aurra would at least let her impatience get the best of her so she’d just do it.

Aurra came over, but instead of pushing the button to release the pod herself, she leaned down to Boba’s ear and whispered _“Do it.”_

Boba shuttered, and before he even knew what he was saying, he let out a soft _no._

“ _What_ did you just say?”

“I’m not going to kill them!” Boba’s voice cracked over tears.

Aurra huffed. “You don’t even have to pull a trigger. What’s gotten into you?”

When Boba tried to answer, all that came out was a broken sob.

“I don’t have time to deal with whatever... teenage angst this is. Jango’s dead, he can’t do anything to me. If you love these clones so much, you can go and die with them.”

Before Boba could comprehend Aurra’s words, he was suddenly shoved back into the escape pod, the door hissing shut behind him. The pod started to drift away from the _Slave I._

Boba stared at the cadets in stunned silence, and the cadets stared right back. His tears were already rolling down his face, but he tried his best to keep a neutral face all the same, as if the cadets hadn’t just watched what had happened. 

Jax stepped forwards slowly, like he was going to comfort Boba. Whiplash gave Hotshot a look, like he couldn't believe his brother was still trying to be Boba's friend. 

“Don't,” Boba started. 

Jax paused, chewing on his lip, before turning back around to his brothers. Hotshot sent a glare over to Boba. 

Boba's back slid down the sealed door of the pod as he sat down on the floor and curled in on himself. He thought about how he got there, he thought about how stupid he was. He thought about how slow and painful his death would be. He was crying again, but this time it was… Fine. He had learned how to cry silently long ago, the cadets wouldn’t notice.

Except that they did. Boba felt a hand rest on his shaking back and stiffened. 

A soft sigh came from the front of the pod. 

“Jax…” 

After a few moments, probably after Jax decided Boba wouldn't lash out at him, he pulled Boba into a practiced embrace. Boba's sobs became voiced as Jax held him. Jax didn't even know what was going on, and yet…

Boba looked up in surprise as he noticed Hotshot’s form approaching, Whiplash just behind him. The two joined the small pile that Jax had started, none of their previous hostility showing as they put their arms around each other and Boba. 

Boba didn't know what was going on. Whip and Hotshot didn't like him, they never had. Or at least that's what Boba had gathered. Hotshot had his blonde little head on Boba's shoulder now, though, and he didn't seem to mind at all. Even as Boba's tears trickled down his face and into Hotshot's hair. 

It was Whiplash who started singing. Boba wouldn't've thought he would be big on it just from their earlier interactions, but Whip’s pre-pubescent voice rang out on the first word, awkward but clear. 

_Kote!_

Boba's sobs grew as the familiar song started and he remembered what was happening. They were dying. 

_Kandosii sa ka'rta, Vode an._

_Coruscanta a'den mhi, Vode an._

_Bal kote, darasuum kote,_

_Jorso'ran kando a tome._

_Sa kyr'am nau tracyn kad, Vode an._

The cadets stumbled over the Mando’a with their heavy accents but forged ahead valiantly, remembering each word and phrase just fine. Boba wondered if they knew what the individual words they were singing even ment, but he had a feeling they knew what the song as a whole did. Their somber but hopeful tones proved that much. 

_Kandosii sa ka'rta, Vode an._

_Coruscanta a'den mhi, Vode an._

_Bal..._

Boba's sobs slowly died down as the shock from the sudden reminder of his _buir_ and their culture faded. He joined in as soon as his voice started working for him, the Mando’a falling off his tongue like those were the sounds it was made to produce. If the cadets noticed Boba's proficiency with the language, they didn't mention it. They only continued singing, stronger now with a fourth addition.

_Motir ca'tra nau tracinya._

_Gra'tua cuun hett su dralshy'a._

_Aruetyc talyc runi'la solus cet o'r._

_Motir ca'tra nau tracinya._

_Gra'tua cuun hett su dralshy'a._

_Aruetyc talyc runi'la trattok'o._

_Sa kyr'am nau tracyn kad, Vode an!_

The song ended and silence took the pod. The pile of clones grew tighter, and Boba couldn't bring himself to mind. It had been about a year since Jango died, and ever since Boba had been craving physical contact. Aurra did not cuddle. The closest Boba would ever get was when he clutched the helmet his _buir_ had left behind and sobbed into it until he'd almost puke. That didn't count. 

When a bright light suddenly descended through the transparisteel of the escape pod, Boba thought Aurra was back to finish them off. But no, the ship wasn't the Slave I, and Boba had never been so happy to see a _jetii_ before. The ship lingered only for a few moments, probably just relaying their location. It sped off, and that left the small huddle of clones the opportunity to realize they were _not_ about to die. 

“Who the kark are you?” Whiplash suddenly demanded, as if he hadn't just clung onto Boba like his life depended on it. 

“Boba,” he said slowly, waiting for any recognition before clarifying. “Boba _Fett.”_

“Why'd you steal one of Prime’s names?” Hotshot frowned as he muttered.

Before Boba could make a snarky reply, Jax pushed Hotshot a little and interrupted. “I've heard of you! You're the unaltered one! The one that was always with Prime! I thought you were just a dumb myth!”

Boba frowned. “I'm not dumb.”

“Maybe, but if you were a myth you would be.”

Whip pushed Jax back the way he came, away from Hotshot. “Don’t be such a bully, Jax. That's my job.” He turned to Boba. “Why the kriff did you blow everything up?”

Boba was going to have to teach Whiplash some real swear words. 

“I didn't _want_ to blow up the ship, Aurra… Pressured me. And I was too stupid to just say no. My only target is Mace Windu, don't get it fuckin’ twisted. He's the only bastard I want dead.”

Whip blinked. He almost looked a little impressed. “The general?”

Boba grimaced. “If you _have_ to call him that.”

“But why do you hate him so much?” Jax asked, sounding a bit anxious. “He's a jedi!”

Boba rolled his eyes but didn't bother arguing over the implication that all jedi were good. “Did you ever hear how… Prime… Died?” 

The little clone name for Jango felt weird in Boba's mouth, but it made things easier to talk about.

It took a few seconds, but slowly, a dawning realization appeared on Jax’s face. “You really loved Prime, didn't you?”

Boba's throat burned with the promise of more tears. “Why wouldn't I??”

Jax winced. Whatever stories he had been told had clearly not been very informative about _why_ Boba was always with Jango. Perhaps Jax had assumed Boba was some sort of apprentice.

“He’s-” Boba swallowed thickly, “he was my _buir_. I watched Windu kill him.”

Jax nodded silently, Hotshot and Whiplash sending each other wary glances behind him. Boba realized belatedly that there had been a fairly high chance that Jax wouldn't've known what _buir_ meant. The younger cadets never had a chance to learn Mando’a as completely as the command batches.

“Just don't try to kill him again when everyone regroups.”

“You don't have to tell me that,” Boba muttered. He still wanted Windu dead, but he didn't have anything to fall back on. Or anything to kill him with. 

Jax simply shrugged in reply, which was fair. Especially since the other escape pod had just found them. 

The two pods joined together and the doors slid open. The two halves of the cadet squad met in the middle, exchanging hugs and talking about how they all totally didn't cry. Boba realized that no one that was in the other pod knew what had happened at all. That would be… Interesting. 

As he watched the squad reunite, a hand suddenly dropped on his shoulder. Looking up, and totally not jumping at the sudden contact, Boba saw Crasher, the Kamino guard that had been in charge of the whole excursion. Usually Boba was put off by the faces of older clones, but Crasher had such a bad haircut that it canceled it out. The shaved bald spot and dyed grey streaks made him look like an old man, and Boba really hoped it was the result of some dare. Either way, he seemed nice enough, and now he was trying to comfort Boba. 

“Go on over there, Lucky.” Crasher started softly. “Having your batch’s squad dissolved is hard… I should know, but I'm sure they'll be good to you. Our lives are hard, but it's good to learn that a _vod_ is a _vod_ , even if you've never spoken. You can always count on your _vode_ to offer you a shoulder to cry on.”

Boba nodded absently. The faith Crasher tried to comfort him with? That was that same faith that was a crutch for Boba’s plans. It was the trust that Boba had broken when he stunned that one clone with his own gun. It was the trust that made Jax so forgiving when they thought they were dying. 

But Crasher was trying, and just that fact comforted Boba a lot more than the actual words he had said. He stayed in his corner for a while, but Crasher stayed with him the whole time, and slowly his mood drained away. 

When Boba finally made it over to the rest of the cadets, he immediately found himself getting noogied by Jax. 

“So Lucky’s a keeper?” Asked one of the cadets from the other pod. Boba didn't think he had a name yet. 

Jax laughed. “We don't really have much of a choice, ‘51.”

“ _Obviously_ , but if we did, would you let Lucky into the elite ranks of Indigo Squad?”

“At this point? I think he'd get eaten alive by any other squad.”

Boba glared at Jax, who gave him a cheerful smile in return. Bastard. 

‘51 rolled his eyes at that. “Anyways, Lucky. How'd you grow your hair out so long? I've been trying to forever but they keep on making me cut it so it doesn't go past reg length.”

Boba frowned. “Uh… I just got lucky, I guess. No one cared.”

‘51 sighed wistfully. “Oh, to have a name like Lucky.”

“I mean you _could_ have a similar name…” Jax mused. “Chance, maybe?”

‘51 stuck out his tongue. “Ew! I'm not matching with Lucky!”

Boba flicked ‘51’s ear. “Rude.”

“You should match with Whip and Hotshot if you're going to be like that,” Jax teased, flicking ‘51’s other ear. 

“They don't even have matching names!”

Jax smiled. “I dunno… Whip-lash, Hot-shot. You can be Ass-hole.”

‘51 looked ready to pummel Jax. Boba laughed despite himself. He missed this, or at least he thought it was something he was missing. Maybe it was just new. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this fic has a new name because i really wasn't vibing with the old one at all, i feel like the new one is a lot better. let me know what you think!

Windu survived the crash, which wasn't too surprising at that point. Really, Aurra was a _di’kut_ for thinking destroying the cruiser in any way that wasn't instantaneous would kill anyone but clones. Which wasn't now weighing on Boba’s conscience at _all_. 

Ponds was, thankfully, alive as well. Boba didn't know how he forgot about him, probably too caught up in the moment. Ponds was always kind to Boba growing up. It wasn't his fault that his commanding officer was a murderer. He'd gone down with the cruiser though, which meant Boba had been very close to killing him. 

Boba didn't want to think about that. Killing clones he'd never even known was already painful. Killing someone he grew up with, ~~one of his _vode_~~ , would be too… Too much. 

(Boba also didn't want to think about what would happen if he would've stayed with Aurra. They would've checked the wreck for Windu. They would've found Ponds instead. What would Aurra have him do? What would his own anger push him to do?)

The little group of cadets, _Indigo squad_ , Boba reminded himself, was stuck on the other jedi’s cruiser for the time being. The tour had been canceled, so the cadets were left watching the troopers hurry past in their blue painted plastoid. There was the occasional survivor from the crash amongst the others, brown against blue, and Boba realized he could recognize the brown swirls curling up the plastoid of the clone staring directly at him. 

_Shit_. 

It was the clone that had oh so kindly given Boba their blaster right before Boba returned the favor by stunning them. Which was not only a very bad first impression but also incredibly incriminating. They were still looking for an assassin.

Before Boba could think really anything through, he got up to approach the clone. 

“What are you doing?” Jax hissed, grabbing Boba’s arm. Boba just shrugged him off and continued walking. Jax huffed, but clearly understood that there wasn’t anything he could do to stop Boba. Because Boba could do whatever the fuck he wanted.

Apparently there was nothing _anyone_ could do to stop Boba, because the clone from earlier just let him waltz up and push them into a closet to talk in private. Boba thought this was a bit stupid of them, but perhaps they also wanted to talk. 

“Who the _fuck_ are you, kid?” The clone whisper-yelled as soon as they were out of earshot of anyone, their bucket torn off. 

“Smart first question," Boba responded with a smirk, "I'm Boba Fett.”

The clone's eyes widened just a bit. “ _That_ explains a lot.”

Boba frowned. “Like what?”

“Why you were targeting the general, why you froze up when you saw my face, why you said I wasn't your _vod_ , which hurt! By the way! Also explains why you're such a good shot, and why you always look like you're going to murder someone when a _vod_ calls you kid.”

“You know why I was targeting Windu?”

The clone sighed heavily. “I was there when Jango died. I saw it happen. And I saw you.”

Boba swallowed slowly. “Shut up,” he whispered. “Shut the fuck up.”

“Alright. Won't talk about it. I won't turn you in or anything either.”

“...You won't?”

The clone shrugged. “As long as you don't try to kill the general again.”

“But I killed so many--!”

“You don't think I know?” The clone interrupted. They were close to being angry, but not quite. It didn't breach the wobbly sorrow of their voice. “I knew a lot of them. Personally. Milk was the next best thing to our medic, sometimes even better ‘cause she wasn't always up your ass. She didn't have much medical training but she'd just let you talk while she put a bacta patch on you and… Dread was, paradoxically, the most optimistic goddamn person I've ever met. Xe was just very strange about it, I think. No clue where xyr name came from though. Kark, Muddy, Perse, Box… I won't go on for too long but. You did kill people, Boba, you killed your _vode_ , but you're so small and you've been thrown onto the floor too many times for any sort of punishment they come up with to do any good. You're not a lost cause, you're _eleven years old_. You are a _child,_ but as soon as I turn you in they'll ignore that. The courts will just see a defective clone in you.”

Boba let out a long, long breath. “Okay.”

The clone gave him the smallest of smiles in return. “Okay.”

“What's your name?” Boba asked, suddenly feeling like he should remember the clone that believed in him too much. 

“Tea.”

Boba blinked. “Like the drink?”

Tea laughed. “Yeah, like the drink. You need to get back to your squad if you're going to stay with them. Someone will notice you're gone eventually.”

Boba nodded. “Alright.”

Tea frowned, just a bit. “Are you really going back to Kamino with them?”

Boba frowned right on back, very slowly realizing that was what was going to happen. “...I don't have anywhere else to go now, I've. Stopped hanging out with people who tell me to kill my _aliit.”_

“Good to hear that your priorities are set straight.” 

Boba turned with a small smile, catching one last glance at the curl of steam painted onto Tea’s chestplate and the tattooed leafs that snaked up the face they shared with Boba's _buir._ Fitting decoration for someone named Tea. 

Jax looked way too relieved when Boba returned to his line of sight. The kid looked like he needed like, 20 naps. 

“You're so lucky Crasher can't do a headcount to save his life,” Jax hissed just as soon as Boba was able to hear. 

“That's what they call me…” Boba responded distractedly. 

Jax kicked him. 

“Am I ever going to be introduced to those three?” Boba gestured to the three members of Indigo Squad he had yet to meet, they had been in the other escape pod with ‘51 and Crasher. They all had the standard clone haircut, something that was a bit rare for the squad, apparently. Everyone was within reg length, much to ‘51’s dismay, and while Jax’s hair was close to standard, that cowlick he had seemed to be impossible to tame. Boba figured it must be a defect, as insignificant as it was. Boba himself definitely didn't have it. 

“Those are the triplets, you're never gonna be able to tell them apart.” Jax replied with a shrug. 

“Try me,” Boba challenged, even though his ability to distinguish between clones had become a fair bit rusty in the last year.

“Well one of them is Suns, one is Moons, and one is Stars. If you talk to them for more than three seconds you can tell who's who but right now?” Jax looked at the triplets for a good 30 seconds. The three of them were huddled in on each other, playing some game that Boba suspected they invented themselves. “Yeah, I have no idea.”

“You can't tell apart your own batchmates?” Boba asked, maybe a bit too direct. 

Jax smiled apologetically. “The triplets aren't my batchmates, Hotshot and Whip are. Indigo squad was formed fairly recently from two separate batches. ‘51 is their other batchmate and he can tell who's who easily.”

Boba sat there a bit awkwardly. “...Oh.” Jax only had Hotshot and Whiplash for batchers. That meant he'd lost two others.

Jax shrugged. “It's no big deal, you would've found out eventually… But you never had a batch, did you?”

“Not… really,” Boba responded slowly. 

“Wait, what?” Jax’s eyebrows shot up. “What makes it ‘not really’? Who's your ‘not really’ batch?”

Thankfully, just at that moment, Crasher called for their attention, shutting down any potential conversation. The cadets jumped into formation, and Jax gave Boba a look as he fell in place beside him. 

“At ease, cadets, we're just moving. The field trip is technically over and this would normally be free time, so as long as none of you get lost you're free to follow along outside of formation and talk.”

Jax grinned at Crasher’s words and pulled Boba into a strangling hug. “So you were just about to tell me about your batch, right?” He asked loudly.

‘51 turned around and started walking backwards in order to face Boba and Jax. Boba realized what Jax was trying to do. 

“They're still… Around, right?” 51’ asked tentatively. “If you don't want to talk about then don't feel all too pressured.”

“Yeah, mostly.” Boba said with a light shrug. He'd wanted to keep Lucky's story fairly tragedy-free when inserting himself into the squad initially and he was grateful for that now. Still, a batch being dissolved would usually call for at least one decommissioning, so he kept things vague to avoid suspicion. “And it's… Fine. I don't mind talking about them.”

One of the triplets started to look back in interest and Whiplash had quickened his pace to insert himself next to Boba. He had a crowd.

“Well uh, I guess I'll start with Kote...p.” Cody didn't go by Kote anymore, but Boba quickly realized that his friends would notice if his ‘batchmates’ all had the same names as the most popular CCs. Kotep was a nice save, bravery and glory were similar enough. 

“Is that Mando’a?” Asked the triplet, sounding more excited about that then Boba would expect. 

“You should hear him sing,” Whip interrupted, eyes twinkling mischievously, “his pitch isn't... _amazing_ but his accent is sent from the stars.”

Boba sighed loudly. He really didn't want to get caught up in another fun squad _Vode An_ singalong anytime soon. 

“Huh? Who's talking about me?”

Another triplet, Stars, Boba realized, turned around. 

“Talking about the stars, not you, Stars. Lucky’s telling us about his batchmate Kotep.”

“Yeah, Kotep. He uhh… They're kind of an asshole? Not really, that's more of um… Tooka.” Fox would never forgive Boba for giving him the name Tooka, but thankfully he would never need to know. “Kotep is more of just y'know, a future squad leader. Like Jax.”

Jax huffed. “I never said I was aiming for any of that!”

Boba rolled his eyes. “You can always tell who's going to get it, I promise. Anyways, Kotep’s also the one obsessed with names. Every batch has at _least_ one namer.”

“Did they give you the name Lucky?” Jax asked, careful with his words. 

“He helped me find it, yeah.”

“I'm the one who came up with our matching names,” one of the triplets boasted, not Stars, and not the one who was seemingly not listening. “I think that makes me the namer, right?”

“Yeah, I definitely say that counts.” Boba said with a smile. “...Are you Suns or Moons?”

“Moons!” They respond with a laugh. “Suns is pretty easy to identify once you start talking to them. They're the grump.”

Suns looked back at Moons only slightly. “I'm not grumpy, I'm just not easily excited.”

Boba laughed at that. “You remind me of Fang, he's all stoic like that too... He spells his name super weird.”

“How do you spell Fang weird without making it another word?” Whip asked with a bit of a mocking laugh. 

“I honestly haven't seen it written out more than once and I can't remember. Maybe two G’s?” Boba lied easily. He wasn't going to allow Wolffe to get away unbullied, even under a different name, but Whip was right. Boba wasn’t really sure how to spell fang in a way just as specifically outrageous as Wolffe. 

Whip snorted. “That's stupid.”

“That's what we all said! Tooka’s always boasting about how he has the better name but I'm not too sure about that. He ‘n Fang have always had a sort of rivalry.”

Whip nodded solemnly. “An important thing to have.”

“And then there's two more, Blight and Lake.” If anyone noticed that, including Boba, that would add up to six cadets, they didn't say anything. Batches of six weren't unheard of, but they sure weren't the norm. “Blight is really sweet, despite the name.” Boba didn't really know what a Bly was, but he hoped he wasn't going too off base introducing zer with a name like Blight. “Ze has a really solid punch though, so maybe that's where it came from. Ze’s gone through like, five names before so I've lost track.”

The hallway was close to opening up into the bridge, their destination, and Boba realized he _liked_ talking about the CC squad he almost-maybe grew up with. 

“Lake… He… Deserved better.” Ponds had been on Boba's mind, and so the description came out more contemplative than he meant. “He was close with Blight, and those two kinda balanced out Fo-- Fang and Tooka. I just wish things could've gone better for him though, y'know?” 

Boba was talking about Ponds as they entered the bridge, and as he stopped talking, he noticed the prickly sensation of someone staring at him. Turning around, he realized with a jolt of surprise that it was Ponds himself. 

Boba quickly turned back to the cadets, face burning. He had just talked about Ponds like he was dead right in front of him. Under a different name, but still. Boba just felt bad for him because of who his general was, not because he was _gone._ Indigo definitely thought he was dead though, Jax had a gentle hand on Boba’s back. 

“You don't have to be embarrassed over being upset,” Jax said softly, and Boba grew more embarrassed because oh boy did he accidentally mislead everyone. “We've all lost a sibling, it's practically a requirement for a squad like this.”

That hit Boba like a speeder. When was the last time he'd talked to anyone in that little CC squad that adopted him? When was the last time he'd actually considered them _vode?_ He had lost siblings, and he hadn’t even realized it. Hadn't even acknowledged it.

Boba absently leaned into Jax's hand. “...Thanks.”

Jax smiled. _“Ba'gedet'ye, vod.”_ His accent was terrible.

Boba laughed at that and found that he was okay with this, with Indigo. Maybe this was his chance to try again with siblings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tea is a clone that appears in death trap but their characterization and design is something that has been developed between a fair amount of my friends all on our sand wars discord server so i'd like to credit them all for that! collective ocs are fun and i love them. 
> 
> mando'a translations:  
> di'kut: idiot (lit. someone who forgets to put their pants on)  
> vod: sibling (vode plural)  
> aliit: family  
> buir: parent  
> kotep: brave  
> kote: glory  
> ba'gedet'ye: you're welcome


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of a short chapter, I think. I don't know I'm not paying attention. I split what was originally chapter 3 into two bc I found that a lot of what I was writing later I was compressing just so I could get the chapter out which... yikes! no good. Anyways, I finished the majority of this a while ago so this is a bit late but on the positive side I already have about half of the next chapter written :)

It was almost time to ship off to Kamino, and Boba could still feel Pond’s eyes latched onto the back of his neck like a tether. Boba really, really needed to ignore it. He did not need Ponds somehow _recognizing_ him. 

“Hey Lucky? Windu’s commander is looking at you a lot. Did you do anything that might get you in trouble?” One of the triplets, Stars, maybe, was the one who eventually brought it up. Hotshot and Whiplash gave each other a _look_ and Boba really wanted to punch both of them in the arm or something. 

“If I don't acknowledge it, I'll be fine. If I do I'll look all guilty.”

“So you _did_ do something.” Stars continued. 

“No,” Boba lied, “I'm just saying, I’ll _look_ guilty.”

“I think you should go ask him what's up,” Jax said, gently nudging Boba in the arm. Boba wondered wildly if he had already pieced together his connection with Ponds. It was unlikely, but Jax was proving to be rather annoyingly perceptive. “If he thought you did anything he would've already talked to you.”

Boba sighed, Jax was getting to him with all his niceness. He got up and faced Ponds. 

“Is anything wrong, commander?” Boba asked primly, because normally he would've never talked to Ponds like that and he did not want to be found out. 

Ponds blinked, seemingly coming out of a drifting thought. “Oh, it's nothing, cadet. You just remind me of someone with that long hair of yours. It's just... I didn't think anyone would be able to get away with it on Kamino, especially at your age, but I've heard from some shinies that things have been becoming a bit more lenient.” His eyes were sad as he went on in typical Ponds fashion. Boba didn't really know what to think. 

“Oh… I'm sorry, sir.” Lucky, however, would probably assume that Ponds was referring to a dead friend. 

Ponds waved him off. “It's alright, he's still around, but sometimes I wish things could've gone a bit differently. I don't really see my batchmates all too often.”

Boba shivered minutely. The similarities between Ponds’ cover story and his own were eerie. He was a bit baffled, he didn't realize that his feeling of belonging with the CCs was mutual. 

“My batch got separated too,” Boba replied, thankful that he'd chosen that backstory for Lucky, “it's stupid. They raised us together for so long, designed us to work together perfectly, and then they threw all that away to make the squads bigger or something. I mean, I don't have anything against my new squad, but it would just be _easier_ if the batch had stayed together!” Boba's rant sputtered to a stop as he realized that his words echoed Ponds’ own from years ago. The CC batch had always known they'd be separated, but none of them liked it, and Ponds had especially lamented about how it wasn't even the most efficient way the Kaminoans could’ve gone about things. 

Ponds sad smile somehow grew sadder. “I wish you luck in connecting with your new squad, cadet. Maybe keep quiet about your complaints with the new system around the longnecks, yeah? You're a good kid and I'd like to see you off Kamino in a few years doing just fine.”

Boba nodded, swallowing back the sickness the implications of that last bit brought. “Thank you, sir.”

“That wasn't too hard, was it?” Jax said quietly as Boba returned, giving him a quick side hug. 

Usually Boba would find that patronizing, but that conversation had shook him so much that it was needed. Jax sure was annoyingly perceptive. There was a silent question of _what the hell was that_ in Jax's eyes, and Boba really wished a chance to talk privately would come sooner because he just needed to be open about everything for once. 

“So what, if my hair was just a bit longer the commander would be looking all weird at me too?” ‘51 suddenly asked, probably loud enough for Ponds to hear. “We're like five! Who's he being reminded of?”

Jax let go of Boba and laughed a bit, not-so-subtly eyeing Ponds. “Maybe they're a shiny, y'know they've started sending us out when we're a bit older than eight, that's only three years away.”

‘51 rolled his eyes. “Eight year olds look a lot different, ‘sides, he started going off about his batchmates, so _nothing_ makes sense.”

Boba smiled secretly to himself. He knew the answer to the mystery, and he wasn't going to say anything about it. ‘51 and Jax continued going back and forth about it until the wait was up, only barely noticeably making Ponds roll in regret. It was a funny thing to try to sneak a peek at once and a while. 

The ride back to Kamino took a few hours, but it definitely wasn't as long as it could be. Windu’s cruiser was chosen because it was stationed relatively close to the planet, and Boba was glad the trip wasn't any longer. Talking among Indigo was nice, but as conversation shifted onto Boba, the gap in knowledge between the two escape pod groups was getting more and more apparent by the minute. By the end, it was clear that ‘51 and the triplets were fully aware that something was up. 

Finally, _finally_ Indigo returned to their dorms. The whole squad seemed dead on their feet, including Boba, but there was still time before lights out, and so Boba sat down on the bench and got ready to tell a story. 

‘51 seemed to get what was happening before Boba had even said anything. “I knew there was something up with you! Spill it!”

Hotshot began to climb the ladder to his pod bunk. He lay down and closed his eyes, but kept the thing out of the wall. 

“You're not interested in what Lucky’s gotta say?” One of the triplets asked, possibly Moons. 

“Whip, Jax 'n I heard it all in the escape pod. That's the only reason he's coming clean to the rest of you.”

“There's still some things I haven't told you,” Boba said, “they've just only recently become relevant.”

Hotshot sat up but didn't leave his bunk. “Okay, you get one ear open.”

“Glad to see you being part of the team Hotshot,” Boba drawled. “But uh, hm. I guess I should just reintroduce myself. Hi, I'm Boba Fett, I was the unaltered clone raised as Jango’s son and I’m an entire eleven years old.” 

There was a stunned silence from those who didn't know, ‘51 slowly turned around to look at the triplets, he clearly hadn't expected that.

“What? No you aren't.” 

It was definitely Suns who broke the silence. Whiplash, ‘51, and another triplet immediately started arguing with Suns’ declaration before Jax did one of those loud whistles with his fingers in his mouth.

“You can do that?” Boba asked, almost impressed. 

Jax shrugged halfheartedly. “You don't need to argue over whether he's telling the truth or not because our escape pod was intercepted by the bounty hunters he was with before all this. Hotshot and Whip and I saw all this, you can ask them. He really couldn't be anyone other than Boba Fett.”

Suns continued to look suspicious. “Okay, but why aren't you with those bounty hunters now?”

“They're shabuire and I hate them,” Boba said plainly, “they made me kill vode _…_ I'm not doing that anymore.”

“So you're the assassin,” Moons accused. 

Boba shrugged, he was tired. “Only wanted to kill Windu. He killed my buir and I wanted revenge. I still want revenge, I guess, but at least I know now that I was going about it wrong.”

Suns studied Boba for a good moment, a strange expression on their face. They came to some sort of conclusion and then left to climb the ladder to their pod-bunk. 

‘51 stood there for a bit while the other two triplets whispered to one another worriedly. 

“Yeah, okay.” ‘51 finally said. “Didn't you have something else you wanted to say?”

Boba blinked. “Oh yeah, I uh. Ponds was one of the ‘batchmates’ I mentioned earlier, Lake. That's why he was looking at me weird, he recognized me, apparently.”

‘51’s eyes widened in realization. “So _that's_ why none of it made sense. Ka’ _ra.”_

Hotshot leaned out from his bunk, “now that was worth keeping an ear open for. You grew up with a _commander?”_

“Uh… Yeah.” Boba said slowly, deciding not to mention that everyone in his not-batch was a commander. Indigo could figure it out for themselves, they just had to make a few connections between knowledge they already had. 

“Wait, I thought you were implying Lake was dead. Do you have beef with Commander Ponds or something?” ‘51 asked, slowly recalling what he'd heard earlier. 

“...I just feel bad about him being under Windu’s command,” Boba sheepishly explained, “it just kinda came out wrong.”

Whip laughed. “You might be projecting your grudge onto the commander a little bit there.”

Boba frowned. _“_ Buir trained him! He wasn't as close to them as I was of course but I… Would like to think he cared that he. Died.”

Whip’s head tilted a bit, a small regretful frown on his face. “I see. ‘M sorry Lucky, uh. Boba. Um, what should we call you?”

Boba shrugged. “Either is fine. They're both my names. I mean, only one is official, but that never stopped any of you.”

“...But we should call you Lucky unless we know no one else can overhear us, like now,” Jax added, nudging Boba. 

“Right. Probably.” 

The rest of the squad started turning in for the night, but Boba just stood there. There was so much. So much had happened that day. And now he was just expected to go to sleep and then wake up the next day and do what. Flash training? He hoped not. Considering he legitimacy could not learn anything from it because his eyes and brain weren't wired to be able to retain the words that flashed by. And what about Suns? Did they just hate him? Would he be able to do anything about that?

Jax hadn't gone up yet, Boba suddenly realized. He was just there right next to him. 

Boba sighed. 

“I… Didn't think he considered me a batchmate. I mean, we really aren't. And it's so..! He's so much taller than me, yknow? I can pretend to be half his age, half _my_ age, and no one notices. It's always been like this but I don't think I've ever gotten used to it.”

“It's hard for me to wrap my head around it, I'll be honest,” Jax admitted, “but sometimes I feel like I can tell. I don't think they could ever not miss you, Boba. You were always there, right? Like you grew up with them. I mean, I'm close with a few ori’vode, but when they were my age, I didn't exist. When your batchmates were my age, you were smaller, but you were there. I dunno, does that make sense?”

Boba nodded slowly. “Yeah, I think so. Thank you.”

Jax shrugged dismissively as if he didn't just help Boba feel a lot better about himself. “Do you want me to show you which pod is yours?” 

“Oh, yeah. Sure.”

It wasn’t too high up, which relieved Boba a bit more than he’d like to admit. Jax slowly showed him all of the controls, promising to open up the pod in the morning so Boba wouldn't panic at the unfamiliar space. 

“And my pod’s just right next to yours,” Jax concluded, opening said pod. It was so perfect, Boba thought idly, that Jax was right next to him. Almost too perfect. 

“Who was… In here before?” Boba asked quietly, guiltily.

Jax paused. “A good vod _._ You remind me of them.”

Boba barely nodded, staring at Jax for a long moment. _“I don't think they could ever not miss you,_ ” he'd said. He had experience. Why did he have to have experience? He had been comforting Boba, and just how backwards was that?

Boba shut his pod without saying more. He didn't want to press, and a simple acknowledgement was all that was needed. Before he could even start to think too hard about being in a pod, before he could become claustrophobic, Boba passed out. The day had been long, and rest was the only thing left. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No italics for Mando'a this time around, might go back and edit everything else if I feel like thats how I'll go in the future. 
> 
> Translations:  
> shabuire- jerks, motherfuckers  
> vod- sibling (vode plural)  
> buir- parent  
> ka'ra- stars, ancient Mandalorian myth - ruling council of fallen kings. used like "oh my god" in this context  
> ori'vode: older siblings

**Author's Note:**

> i hope the first part of this fic works well, its pretty much just a novelization, i stripped all the dialogue from the episode. hopefully i was able to add some good insight to what boba was thinking and using it as context to the turning point worked well. either way it was fun analyzing the body language and tone of voice from the episode, kinda makes me want to do stuff like that more often.
> 
> not putting the translation to vode an here, you can look that up yourself if you want it, should be fairly easy to find.
> 
> i have! many ideas for this au! but i..! am also writing another fic and [you should check that out](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23865082/chapters/57364069). it also has boba (and cody and rex and the domino squad and 99...)
> 
> updates will be slow so maybe just subscribe to both and then it'll be more normal? totally not aggressively plugging my other work at all, this isn't what this is.


End file.
